Land purchased for Falmouth ferry parking

FALMOUTH — The ferry service between the Cape and Islands is buying land in West Falmouth for passenger parking, in an effort to consolidate lots and reduce downtown traffic problems.

By AARON GOUVEIA

FALMOUTH — The ferry service between the Cape and Islands is buying land in West Falmouth for passenger parking, in an effort to consolidate lots and reduce downtown traffic problems.

The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority has signed a purchase and sales agreement to buy 47 acres of land off Thomas B. Landers Road for close to $9 million, according to Steamship Authority officials. In time, the agency plans to close the satellite lots on Gifford Street as well as the parking area in Cataumet.

The number of parking spaces — roughly 1,900 — will remain the same, but the consolidation of lots will improve efficiency, cut costs and reduce traffic, according to ferry officials.

"For years, we've been trying to locate a thoughtful, sensible alternative to having these lots scattered all over town and into Cataumet," said Robert Marshall, Falmouth's representative on the Steamship Authority's board of managers. "This would be it."

The land — split into four parcels — is being purchased from Acme Precast Co. Inc. and The Four Stones LLC.

Still early in the process, the new lot will not be open for at least three years, Marshall said.

He said only 20 acres of the lot will be used for parking — the part of the property that is already cleared. The rest of the industrially-zoned land will remain wooded but may be used in the future.

When the three lots are combined into one, it will mean less shuttle buses, fewer personnel and shorter drive times, Marshall said. The biggest difference for customers will be seen by motorists who use the Cataumet lot, which is 15 miles away from the Woods Hole Terminal. The new lot is five miles closer to the ferry.

Currently, when a ferry docks during peak travel times, there are three different bus routes used to get people back to their cars. When the new lot is open, only one bus route will be necessary.

Marshall also said the east-to-west traffic between Cataumet, the Gifford Street lots and the terminal will be eliminated as all customers can easily exit Route 28 on Thomas B. Landers Road to access the new parking lot.

"I'm feeling very positive about it because it will take all those shuttle buses and other traffic off Gifford Street," said Mary "Pat" Flynn, chairwoman of Falmouth selectmen. "This is a great solution that is much more sensible and better for everybody."

Another added benefit of the consolidation plan is that the Steamship Authority will no longer have to lease two of the three lots scheduled for closure, according to a press release from Wayne Lamson, general manager of the Steamship Authority.

For years, Lamson has worried about the landlords deciding to use the lots for purposes other than parking. If that happened, he said customers would have to be turned away and would end up parking illegally all over town.

"The acquisition of this new property will give us long-term protection against the potential loss of the existing properties that we are currently renting for some of our parking operations," Lamson said in the press release.

This plan will be implemented within five years, and any environmental impacts must be examined prior to construction in accordance with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act.

Because the Steamship Authority is a quasi-state agency, it is exempt from local zoning bylaws, Marshall said, and only needs state approval before moving forward.